Protector

ABSTRACT

A protector includes a protector main body having a bottom wall and two side walls. The protector main body forms a depression and a lid member closes off an open end of the depression. The lid member includes a male lock portion having an elastic tab with an engagement claw. The protector main body includes a female lock portion having a frame on at least one side wall of the two side walls and the frame engaging with the engagement claw. A projecting-end-proximate top end surface of the frame of the female lock portion is positioned further upward than the pair of base-end-proximate top end surfaces and the top end surface of the side wall of the protector main body. Further, the projecting-end-proximate top end surface and an engagement projection portion of the frame of the female lock portion moves away from the one side wall on a top end side while approaching the one side wall on a bottom end side.

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/775,587 filed May 11, 2018, which is a National Stage ofPCT/JP2016/082014 filed Oct. 28, 2016, which claims the benefit ofJapanese Patent Application No. 2015-225891, filed Nov. 18, 2015. Theentire disclosure of each of the above-identified applications,including the specification, drawings, and claims, is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a protector that protects a wireharness, and particularly relates to a protector configured such that alid member engages with a protector main body having a depression thataccommodates a wire.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When manufacturing a wire harness to be mounted in a vehicle, a portionof a routing section of the wire harness is often protected by enclosingthe portion in a protector. The protector typically has a tubular shapeconfigured by a lid member and a protector main body having a recessedshape in cross-section, and the protector main body and lid member aregenerally held in a close-lidded state by a snap lock-type lockmechanism.

A known example of this type of conventional protector is a protector inwhich, for example, an elastic tab with an engagement claw is formed ona side wall of a protector main body and a holding frame is providedintegrally with the side wall, the holding frame facing the engagementclaw and spanning the elastic tab and slits cut on two sides thereof,whereas a female lock portion is provided to a lid member side, thefemale lock portion being configured by an engagement frame with a lockhole that is capable of engaging with the engagement claw (see, forexample, Patent Literature 1).

Another example is known in which a male lock portion having an elastictab with an engagement claw and slits cut on two sides thereof isprovided to a lid member side, whereas a frame-shaped female lockportion enabling the male lock portion to be inserted therethrough andthe engagement claw to engage therewith is provided to a side wall of aprotector main body, and a depression capable of accommodating theelastic tab is further formed on the side wall of the protector mainbody as a clearance structure for the flexure of the elastic tab (see,for example, Patent Literature 2).

RELATED ART Patent Literature

-   Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No.    2012-167736-   Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No.    H8-296621

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

However, in the conventional protectors described above, the female lockportion and holding frame of the lock mechanism formed on an exteriorsurface of the two side walls of the protector main body each have a topend surface that is even with a top end surface of the side walls, whichis a contact surface between the protector main body and the lid member.Moreover, the engagement claw must engage with a crossbeam portion thatfaces the engagement claw and that spans the elastic tab and the pair ofslits on two sides of the elastic tab, or that spans the depressionaccommodating the elastic tab. Therefore, a vertical direction width ofthe crossbeam portion is constrained.

In addition, positions where two ends of the crossbeam portion projectfrom the two side walls of the protector main body are adjacent to thepair of slits on two sides of the elastic tab with the engagement clawor to the depression accommodating the elastic tab. Therefore, there isa challenge where a weld line readily forms in the crossbeam portion ofthe holding frame or frame-shaped female lock portion, and a crackreadily develops in the holding frame or the frame-shaped female lockportion in a locked state, on the edge of the weld line. In other words,when molten resin flows into a molding die to mold the protector mainbody, the molten resin reaches two side wall corners of the side wallsof the protector main body, the two side wall corners configuring thepair of slits described above or two side walls of the depression, thenthe molten resin flows toward the crossbeam portion in the oppositedirection through an area around the lock hole while progressivelydiminishing in cross-sectional area, and the two resin flows graduallycool during this time. When the two resin flows meet, there is a concernthat, for example, a thin, film-like solidified layer may have formed ona leading end of the resin flow, and a weld line is likely to be formed.

There is also a challenge where, within the height direction limitationnoted above, when the width of the lock hole is increased in a thicknessdirection of the side wall of the protector main body in order to ensureease of a task of inserting the male lock portion of the lock mechanism,the projection height on the side wall surface for the holding frame orfemale lock portion necessarily increases, and reduction in the ease ofperforming a lid closing task accompanying a locking task in order tomake the protector more compact is unavoidable.

The present invention has been conceived in order to resolve suchconventional challenges and seeks to provide a protector which iscapable of making the protector more compact while also preventingcracks from developing in a lock mechanism between a protector main bodyand a lid member, and preventing a reduction in ease of performing a lidclosing task where the lid member is locked to the protector main body.

Means for Solving the Problems

In order to achieve the above, a protector according to the presentinvention includes a trough-shaped protector main body having a bottomwall and two side walls; a lid member arranged facing the protector mainbody so as to make close contact with a top end of the two side walls ofthe protector main body; and a lock mechanism locking at least one sidewall of the two side walls with the lid member in a close-lidded state.The protector main body is provided with a female lock portion having asubstantially C-shaped frame that, together with the one side wall,forms a lock hole, and is also provided with a male lock portion havingan elastic tab with an engagement claw that is inserted into the lockhole and engaged by the frame. The frame of the female lock portionincludes a pair of support portions formed with a pair ofbase-end-proximate top end surfaces that are continuous with a top endsurface of the one side wall, the pair of base-end-proximate top endsurfaces being formed at two end sides of the pair of support portionsthat are supported by the one side wall; a crossbeam portion integrallysupported by the pair of support portions, the crossbeam portion beingformed with a projecting-end-proximate top end surface that iscontinuous with the pair of base-end-proximate top end surfaces andpositioned toward a projecting end side, where a distance from the oneside wall increases, and further upward than the pair ofbase-end-proximate top end surfaces and the top end surface of the oneside wall; and an engagement projection portion projecting downward fromthe crossbeam portion along the same direction as theprojecting-end-proximate top end surface, the engagement projectionportion snap-locking the elastic tab with the engagement claw of themale lock portion.

According to this configuration, in order to constrain a projectionheight of the lock mechanism, even when the lock hole is made narrowerin a thickness direction of the side wall of the protector main body,the crossbeam portion, which is inclined such that theprojecting-end-proximate top end surface is positioned further upwardthan the top end surface of the side wall of the protector main body,forms an insertion guide having a cross-section that expands so as toproject toward the lid member. Accordingly, an insertion guideperformance that equals or exceeds an ordinary lock hole (and furtherequals or exceeds when the lock mechanism is arranged on both side wallsof the protector main body) is ensured with respect to the elastic tabof the male lock portion.

Moreover, when molding the protector, at a top end side of the crossbeamportion, where two resin flows (for the pair of support portions of theframe) flow into the crossbeam portion and mingle, a weld line can beeffectively inhibited from forming by, for example, the meeting anglebecoming larger, and in turn a resin flow being formed by the newlymingling resin, the new resin flow flowing obliquely downward from thecrossbeam portion toward the engagement projection.

The protector according to the present invention can also have aconfiguration in which the projecting-end-proximate top end surface ofthe crossbeam portion forms, together with the top end surface on theprojecting end side of the pair of support portions, an inclined surfaceand two ends of the crossbeam portion are supported above the top endsurface of at least the one side wall by the pair of support portions.

Effect of the Invention

According to the present invention, a protector can be provided which iscapable making the protector more compact while also preventing cracksfrom developing in a lock mechanism between a protector main body and alid member, and preventing a reduction in ease of performing a lidclosing task where the lid member is locked to the protector main body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main portion of a protector accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the main portion of the protector according tothe embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along an arrow in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the main portion of the protector according tothe embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a main portion of a protector according to acomparative example.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along an arrow VI-VI in FIG. 5.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In the following, an embodiment of the present invention is describedwith reference to the drawings.

Embodiment

FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate a protector 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The protector 10 according to the present embodimentis configured as a protective member of a wire harness 1 used in anautomobile. Specifically, the wire harness 1 according to the presentembodiment protects a specific routing section of a wire bundle 20 withthe protector 10.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the protector 10 includes a protectormain body 12 having a trough shape that forms a depression 12 a capableof accommodating the wire bundle 20; and a lid member 13 arranged so asto be capable of opening and closing the protector main body 12 fromabove in the drawings, which is the direction in which the depression 12a opens.

In a close-lidded state where an open end of the depression 12 a isclosed off by the lid member 13, the protector main body 12 isconfigured to form a wire insertion hole 14 that correlates to thedepression 12 a.

In addition, the protector main body 12 is a member made of resin(synthetic resin) having a predetermined length and forming thedepression 12 a, which has an overall trench shape. In lateralcross-section, the protector main body 12 has a substantially U-like,recessed shape. The protector main body 12 includes a bottom wall 12 dand two side walls 12 b and 12 c orthogonal to the bottom wall 12 d.

The lid member 13 is a recessed body or a plate-shaped body made ofresin having a predetermined length that can be supported by the sidewalls 12 b and 12 c of the protector main body 12 in the close-liddedstate, and is substantially the same width as the protector main body12. The resin referenced here may be a polypropylene or polyamide resin,for example.

The lid member 13 includes two side ends 13 a and 13 b which come intoclose contact with top end surfaces 12 f and 12 g of the two side walls12 b and 12 c of the protector main body 12.

The protector 10 is configured by the protector main body 12 and the lidmember 13 to have a squared tube shape having a substantially square orrectangular shape overall in lateral cross-section. The protector mainbody 12 and the lid member 13 may be integrally connected by a hinge ona side end 13 b side, for example, and the protector 10 may of course beformed as a single piece.

The wire bundle 20 is configured to include a plurality of wires (aplurality of coated wires) 21. A conductor 21 a of each of the pluralityof wires 21 is configured by a circular twisted wire in which aplurality of annealed copper wires are twisted together, for example. Asheath 11 b is configured by a cylindrical insulating material made of aresin having polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, or the like as a primarycomponent, for example.

The wire bundle 20 may be any one of a wire bundle in which theplurality of wires 21, for example, are bundled by insulating tape so asto be separated by predetermined intervals, are roughly wrapped byinsulating tape in a spiral pattern, or are loose with a path regulatedby the protector 10.

At least one lock mechanism 23, and for example a plurality thereof,locking the lid member 13 in the close-lidded state is provided betweenthe lid member 13 and the two side walls 12 b and 12 c.

Specifically, the protector main body 12 is provided with a female lockportion 33 having a substantially C-shaped frame 32 that, together withat least one side wall 12 b, forms a lock hole 31 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).Conversely, the lid member 13 is provided with a male lock portion 36having an elastic tab 35 with an engagement claw 34 that is insertedinto the lock hole 31 and engaged by the frame 32. The lock mechanism 23is configured by the interlocking female lock portion 33 and male lockportion 36.

The drawings depict the lock mechanism 23 at only one location in anaxis direction of the protector 10, but the lock mechanism 23 isarranged at a plurality of locations in the axis direction of theprotector 10, and the plurality of lock mechanisms 23 are arranged atapproximately equal intervals in a length direction of the protectormain body 12.

The frame 32 of each female lock portion 33 includes a pair of supportportions 41 projecting from a side wall surface of one of the side walls12 b and 12 c; a crossbeam portion 42 integrally supported on two endsby the pair of support portions 41; and an engagement projection portion43 integrally supported by the crossbeam portion 42.

A pair of base-end-proximate top end surfaces 41 a that are continuouswith the top end surface 12 f of the one side wall 12 b are formed onthe pair of support portions 41 on, for example, two end sides thereofthat are supported by the one side wall 12 b (surface portions on bothleft and right end sides of the frame 32 depicted in FIG. 4, which aresupported by the one side wall 12 b).

The crossbeam portion 42 is integrally supported at both ends by thepair of support portions 41. A projecting-end-proximate top end surface42 a is formed on the crossbeam portion 42 so as to be continuous withthe pair of base-end-proximate top end surfaces 41 a and so as to bepositioned toward a projecting end side (toward a bottom end side inFIG. 4), where a distance from the one side wall 12 b increases, andfurther upward than the pair of base-end-proximate top end surfaces 41 aand the top end surface 12 f of the side wall 12 b (upward in FIG. 3),the projecting-end-proximate top end surface 42 a inclined upward at theprojecting end thereof.

A portion within a predetermined height range of the crossbeam portion42 that is positioned further upward than the base-end-proximate top endsurfaces 41 a of the support portions 41 and the top end surface 12 f ofthe side wall 12 b (that is, a portion 42 b within a predeterminedheight range on a top end side where the projecting-end-proximate topend surface 42 a is formed) is hereafter referred to as a top-endwardportion 42 b.

The engagement projection portion 43 projects from the crossbeam portion42 along the same direction as the projecting-end-proximate top endsurface 42 a. In other words, the engagement projection portion 43projects downward in an inclination direction such that a top end sidemoves away from the one side wall 12 b and a bottom end side approachesthe one side wall 12 b.

When the elastic tab 35 with the engagement claw 34 of the male lockportion 36 is inserted into the lock hole 31 from a leading edge guide35 a side, the engagement claw 34 of the elastic tab 35 presses theengagement projection portion 43 outward and the engagement projectionportion 43 is elastically deformed so as to move away from the one sidewall 12 b. When the engagement claw 34 of the elastic tab 35 has passedlower than the engagement projection portion 43, the engagementprojection portion 43 is restored so as to approach the one side wall 12b and can retain and engage the elastic tab 35.

The width of a leading edge of the leading edge guide 35 a in a wallsurface direction of the one side wall 12 b is somewhat smaller than thelength of the lock hole 31 in the same direction. The width directioncenters of the elastic tab 35 and the lock hole 31 in that direction areset at the same position.

The projecting-end-proximate top end surface 42 a of the crossbeamportion 42, together with an inclined surface 41 b on the projecting endside of the pair of support portions 41, forms an inclined surface 32 gthat is broader than the leading edge of the leading edge guide 35 a inthe wall surface direction of the side wall 12 b.

In addition, the crossbeam portion 42 is supported above at least thetop end surface 12 f of the one side wall 12 b by the pair of supportportions 41. As illustrated in FIG. 2, top surfaces 42 c on both endportions of the crossbeam portion 42, which are integral with the topend portions of the pair of support portions 41, are curved at a fixedcurvature radius while inclining obliquely downward such that the topsurfaces 42 c are continuous with an exterior surface 41 c of the pairof support portions 41.

Such a shape for the crossbeam portion 42 provides a “leading” structureby including the inclined surface 32 g, which can act as a guide surfacewhen inserting the male lock portion 36. Moreover, such a shape providesa molding die site for the frame 32 during injection molding of theprotector main body 12 with a structure where a resin flow flowing fromthe pair of support portions 41 into the crossbeam portion 42 readilyflows into a height range above the top end surface 12 f of the one sidewall 12 b.

In the present embodiment, of the upper and lower recessed bodiesconfiguring the protector 10, a side which houses the wire bundle 20 inan open-lidded state is called the protector main body 12. The femalelock portion 33 of the lock mechanism 23 is arranged on the protectormain body 12 side, and the male lock portion 36 is arranged on the lidmember 13 side. However, when contact surfaces of the protector mainbody 12 and the lid member 13 differ between the vicinity of the lockmechanism 23 and other sections along the wire length, the arrangementof the female lock portion 33 and male lock portion 36 of the lockmechanism 23 may be inverted. In the present invention, regardless ofthe circumstance, the side where the female lock portion of the lockmechanism is formed is called the protector main body and the side wherethe male lock portion of the lock mechanism is formed is called the lidmember.

Next, effects of the present invention are described.

In the protector 10 according to the present embodiment, configured asdescribed above, the crossbeam portion 42 inclines such that theprojecting-end-proximate top end surface 42 a is positioned furtherupward than the top end surface 12 f of the side wall 12 b of theprotector main body 12. The cross-section of the crossbeam portion 42expands so as to project toward the lid member 13 and forms an insertionguide, which provides a broad region capable of leading above the lockhole 31.

Accordingly, in order to constrain a projection height of the lockmechanism 23 on the wall surface of one of the side walls 12 b and 12 c,for example the one side wall 12 b, even when the lock hole 31 is madenarrower in a thickness direction of the side wall 12 b of the protectormain body 12, an insertion guide performance that equals or exceeds anordinary lock hole can be achieved with respect to the elastic tab 35 ofthe male lock portion 36.

In particular, as illustrated in FIG. 3, when the lock mechanism 23 isprovided respectively on both side walls 12 b and 12 c of the protectormain body 12, it then becomes possible to lead the male lock portion 36from both sides of the lid member 13. Therefore, an elevated insertionguide performance is ensured and a coupling task, where the lid member13 engages with the protector main body 12, can be broadly facilitatedwhen locking a plurality of lock mechanisms 23.

Moreover, when molding the protector 10, at a top-endward portion 42 bof the crossbeam portion 42, where two resin flows (for the pair ofsupport portions 41 of the frame 32) flow into the crossbeam portion 42and mingle, a weld line can be effectively inhibited from forming by,for example, the meeting angle of the two resin flows becoming larger,and in turn a resin flow being formed by the newly mingling resin, thenew resin flow flowing obliquely downward from the crossbeam portion 42toward the engagement projection portion 43.

In particular, the side walls 12 b and 12 c of the protector main body12 do not require a notch analogous to the slits or depression of PatentLiteratures 1 and 2 noted above, and there is no need to provide acorner portion on two side walls (both side walls). Therefore, in thisrespect also, a weld line is less likely to form.

Accordingly, the walls of the frame 32 can be made thinner. For example,with the side walls 12 b and 12 c of the protector main body 12 having athickness of approximately 1.5 mm, the thickness of the crossbeamportion 42 of the frame 32 can be set to between approximately 1.1 and1.3 mm (for example, 1.2 mm), and by reducing the thickness of theelastic tab 35 (except for the engagement claw 34), the protector 10 canbe effectively made more compact. In addition, the top end surface ofthe crossbeam portion 42 does not jut above the top end of the lidmember 13, and also does not jut greatly above the top end of theelastic tab 35, and therefore does not adversely affect other tasks.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the projecting-end-proximate topend surface 42 a of the crossbeam portion 42, together with the inclinedsurfaces 41 b on the projecting end side of the pair of support portions41, forms the broad inclined surface 32 g, and the two ends of thecrossbeam portion 42 are supported above at least the top end surface 12f of the one side wall 12 b by the pair of support portions 41.Therefore, the resin flow from the direction of the pair of supportportions 41 can be made to flow favorably into the top-endward portion42 b of the crossbeam portion 42, and the formation of a weld line canbe more effectively inhibited.

In this way, according to the present invention, the projection heighton the wall surface of one of the side walls 12 b and 12 c of theprotector main body 12 can be inhibited for the frame 32 and the elastictab 35 with the engagement claw 34, and even when attempting to make theprotector 10 more compact, a protector 10 can be provided which iscapable of reliably preventing cracks from developing in the lockmechanism 23 between the protector main body 12 and the lid member 13,and which is capable of reliably preventing a reduction in ease ofperforming a lid closing task where the lid member 13 is locked to theprotector main body 12.

Comparative Example

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a protector 50 according to a comparativeexample.

The protector 50 has no portion equivalent to the top-endward portion 42b of the crossbeam portion 42 according to the embodiment and instead,similar to the conventional art, has a lock mechanism 63 arranged on aside wall 52 b of a protector main body 52 and on an exterior surfaceside of the lid member 53.

A substantially C-shaped frame 62 in a female lock portion 63 of thelock mechanism 63 includes a top end surface 62 a that is the sameheight as a top end surface 52 f of the side wall 52 b, which is thecontact surface between the protector main body 52 and the lid member53.

In this case, an insertion guide surface 72 a of the male lock portion66 cannot be adequately formed above a crossbeam portion 72, and aleading effect cannot be achieved. Therefore, a width of a lock hole 71and a thickness of the crossbeam portion 72 of the frame 62 in athickness direction (left/right direction in FIG. 6) of the side wall 52b can be somewhat increased.

Specifically, with the side wall 52 b of the protector main body 52 setto a thickness of 1.5 mm, and a thickness width of the crossbeam portion72 of the frame 62 set to 1.5 mm, the width of the lock hole 71 in thethickness direction of the side wall 52 b is increased approximately 1.5times relative to the lock hole 31 in the embodiment, and inconjunction, the thickness of the male lock portion 66 is also increasedby the same factor.

With the configuration of the comparative example, when the projectionheight on the wall surface of the side wall 52 b is constrained for thelock mechanism 63, the ease of the coupling task when locking the lockmechanism 63 is reduced, and the protector 50 is not readily made morecompact.

In the embodiment described above, such issues are resolved.

In this way, in the present embodiment, the protector 10 can be providedcapable of preventing cracks caused by weld lines or the like whileimproving the ease of locking a lid member onto a protector main body,and capable of being made more compact.

Moreover, in the embodiment described above, a case is described wherethe lock mechanism 23 between the protector main body 12 and the lidmember 13 is provided on one of the side walls 12 b and 12 c, forexample on the side wall 12 b. However, of course the lock mechanism 23can be provided between the lid member 13 and each of the side walls 12b and 12 c, or a plurality of lock mechanisms 23 can be arranged on eachof the side walls 12 b and 12 c. In addition, the shapes of theprotector main body 12 and the lid member 13 may also be bent orpartially curved, within a range enabling normal coupling and engagementof the female lock portion 33 and the male lock portion 36 of the lockmechanism 23.

As described above, the present invention is capable of providing aprotector that can prevent cracks in a lock mechanism and can prevent areduction in the ease of a lid closing task where a lid member islocked, while making the protector more compact. The present inventionis useful with all protectors configured to have a lid member engagewith a protector main body that includes a depression housing wires.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

-   -   1 Wire harness    -   10 Protector    -   11 b Sheath    -   12 Protector main body    -   12 a Depression    -   12 b, 12 c Side wall    -   12 d Bottom wall    -   12 f, 12 g Top end surface    -   13 Lid member    -   13 a, 13 b Side end    -   14 Wire insertion hole    -   20 Wire bundle    -   21 Wire    -   21 a Conductor    -   23 Lock mechanism    -   31 Lock hole    -   32 Frame    -   32 g Inclined surface    -   33 Female lock portion    -   34 Engagement claw    -   35 Elastic tab    -   35 a Leading edge guide    -   36 Male lock portion    -   41 Support portion    -   41 a Base-end-proximate top end surface    -   41 b Projecting-end-proximate inclined surface    -   41 c Exterior surface    -   42 Crossbeam portion    -   42 a Projecting-end-proximate top end surface    -   42 b Top-endward portion    -   42 c Top surface    -   43 Engagement projection portion

What is claimed is:
 1. A protector comprising: a protector main bodyhaving a bottom wall and two side walls, the protector main body forminga depression; and a lid member to close off an open end of thedepression, wherein the lid member includes a male lock portion havingan elastic tab with an engagement claw, the protector main body includesa female lock portion having a frame on at least one side wall of thetwo side walls, the frame engaging with the engagement claw, the frameof the female lock portion includes: a pair of support portions formedwith a pair of base-end-proximate top end surfaces that are continuouswith a top end surface of the one side wall; a crossbeam portionintegrally supported by the pair of support portions, the crossbeamportion being formed with a projecting-end-proximate top end surfacethat is continuous with the pair of base-end-proximate top end surfaces;and an engagement projection portion projecting downward from thecrossbeam portion, the engagement projection portion locking the elastictab with the engagement claw of the male lock portion, theprojecting-end-proximate top end surface is positioned further upwardthan the pair of base-end-proximate top end surfaces and the top endsurface of the side wall of the protector main body, and theprojecting-end-proximate top end surface and the engagement projectionportion move away from the one side wall on a top end side whileapproaching the one side wall on a bottom end side, the top end side thebottom end side.